AGENTS.md

@@ -1,127 +0,0 @@
-# Agents: read this before touching laconicd-backed state
-
-Written for AI coding agents (Claude, Codex, Copilot, etc.) working
-on laconicd itself or on applications that persist data through
-it. Humans can read it too — the content is the same — but the
-tone addresses a specific failure mode that agents exhibit more
-consistently than humans.
-
-## The failure mode this document exists to prevent
-
-Agents extending an existing laconicd-backed codebase pattern-match
-the visible API calls and treat them as canonical. If a codebase
-uses `queryRecords` with attribute filtering for everything —
-including where it's wrong — an agent will extend that usage
-rather than discover the Naming API.
-
-When the wrong pattern eventually scales badly (latency grows with
-accumulated record versions), agents reach for **workarounds
-within the chosen pattern** — pagination, caches, compaction —
-rather than re-evaluating the primitive choice. That drift
-compounds: each workaround entrenches the wrong design.
-
-This has happened repeatedly on real projects. The architectural
-cost is high, because laconicd is append-only: wrong versions
-persist on chain as permanent garbage that you can't silently
-delete.
-
-## Concrete rules for agents
-
-### 1. Before designing any laconicd-backed state, read `docs/PATTERNS.md`
-
-Not after a first implementation. Not when you hit a scaling
-wall. **Before.** The decision tree there is the only reliable
-way to pick the right primitive.
-
-### 2. Do not pattern-match from existing client code as if it were canon
-
-A gateway, SDK, or service that already uses laconicd is an
-existing code sample. It is not evidence that the patterns it
-uses are correct. Check:
-
-- Does the client use `setName` / `lookupNames` / `resolveNames`
-  at all? If not, the chances it's modelling mutable identity
-  with `queryRecords`+attribute scan are high — that's almost
-  always a latent latency bug.
-- Does `save_*` in the client write only a Record, never a name?
-  If your new feature has the same shape, you're about to extend
-  the bug.
-- Does the client have "pick the latest" / "sort desc and take
-  first" logic after a `queryRecords` call? That is exactly what
-  `resolveName` does at the chain level — the client is
-  re-implementing it badly.
-
-### 3. Questions an agent should ask itself before writing `queryRecords`
-
-- "Am I looking up the current state of a logical entity?" If yes,
-  you want the Naming API, not `queryRecords`.
-- "Will this query return more records as the same entity gets
-  modified over time?" If yes, you want the Naming API.
-- "Am I about to write client-side code that picks the latest of
-  the returned list?" If yes, you want the Naming API.
-
-If any answer is yes and you still want `queryRecords`, stop and
-write a comment explaining why the Naming API doesn't fit. If you
-can't, the Naming API does fit.
-
-### 4. Do not propose caches, pagination, or compaction as the first fix for slow reads
-
-Slow `queryRecords` on a mutable-identity use case is a design
-smell, not a performance problem. The fixes agents reach for
-first are all wrong:
-
-- **TTL caches** hide the latency rather than fix it. First read
-  per window still pays the full cost.
-- **`limit` / `offset` pagination** caps per-request fetch cost
-  but doesn't reduce the version-per-entity multiplier.
-- **`delete_records` compaction** destroys the audit trail that
-  the immutable-Record design was supposed to provide.
-
-If you're reaching for these, you are almost certainly on the
-wrong side of the decision tree in `docs/PATTERNS.md`. Go back
-and re-pick the primitive.
-
-### 5. If you find a codebase already on the wrong side
-
-Do not compound the mistake. Options in order of preference:
-
-1. Migrate the specific feature you're touching to the Naming
-   API. You can usually do this incrementally — start writing
-   names on new writes, keep reading via attribute-scan until
-   the name index is populated, then flip the read path.
-2. Write an ADR documenting the debt and which class of
-   regression will appear (latency grows with history; first
-   timeout hit around ~N records).
-3. Ship the feature on the Naming API even if the rest of the
-   codebase doesn't — a single correct example in the codebase
-   is worth more than consistency with a wrong pattern.
-
-### 6. Read laconicd's schema and keeper source, not just the client
-
-Before proposing a fix that involves "laconicd doesn't support
-X":
-
-- `gql/cerc-io/laconicd/schema.graphql` — the actual read API.
-- `x/registry/keeper/` — the write and index path.
-- `proto/cerc/registry/v1/tx.proto` — the mutation messages.
-
-Many "laconicd limitations" agents assume are actually client
-limitations. `queryRecords` supports `limit` and `offset`;
-`setName` and `lookupNames` exist and work; `NameRecord.history`
-returns block-height-tagged prior bindings. Verify capabilities
-against source before recommending workarounds or upstream
-changes.
-
-## Why this is in its own file
-
-A `PATTERNS.md` on its own is a reference document humans browse.
-An `AGENTS.md` is loaded into context and read top-to-bottom at
-the start of agent sessions. Calling out the failure mode
-explicitly — "agents tend to overlook the Naming API" — is load-
-bearing because the people most likely to hit the failure are
-the ones who wouldn't naturally pattern-match to a document
-titled "Patterns."
-
-If you are reading this and you are about to write your first
-`queryRecords` call: stop. Read `docs/PATTERNS.md`. Then come
-back.

README.md

@@ -29,26 +29,6 @@ Run with a single node fixture:
 
 See [lockup.md](./lockup.md) for lockup account usage.
 
-## Designing state that lives on laconicd
-
-**Before** writing a client library, service, or migration that
-persists data through laconicd, read:
-
-- [`docs/PATTERNS.md`](./docs/PATTERNS.md) — the primitive
-  decision tree. Explains when to use the Naming API
-  (`setName` / `lookupNames` / `resolveNames`) vs. the Record
-  API (`setRecord` / `queryRecords` / `getRecordsByIds`), with
-  worked examples and the common anti-patterns.
-- [`AGENTS.md`](./AGENTS.md) — written for AI coding agents, but
-  the failure mode it describes (extending the wrong primitive
-  rather than re-evaluating it) applies to human contributors
-  under deadline pressure too.
-
-Picking the wrong primitive is expensive to unwind: laconicd is
-append-only, so mistakes persist as on-chain data you cannot
-silently remove. Spend the 10 minutes to read the pattern guide
-before the first commit.
-
 ## Tests
 
 Run tests:

cmd/laconicd/cmd/add_genesis_lockup_account.go

@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ func AddGenesisLockupAccountCmd() *cobra.Command {
 			moduleName := args[0]
 			distributionFilePath := args[1]
 
-			var distribution []interface{}
+			var distribution map[string]interface{}
 			distributionBytes, err := os.ReadFile(distributionFilePath)
 			if err != nil {
 				return fmt.Errorf("failed to read %s file: %w", distributionFilePath, err)

docs/PATTERNS.md

@@ -1,220 +0,0 @@
-# Laconicd design patterns
-
-**Read this before designing any state that lives on laconicd.**
-Not after. Writing a client library, a service that persists user
-data, or a migration from another store — start here.
-
-This document exists because the wrong primitive choice in an
-application is expensive to unwind after production traffic
-accumulates. The chain is append-only; mistakes persist as
-on-chain garbage you cannot delete retroactively. Most of the
-architectural regret in the laconicd ecosystem so far has come
-from picking `queryRecords` as the default read path when a
-different primitive was the right tool.
-
-## The primitives, honestly
-
-Laconicd exposes three distinct storage and lookup primitives. They
-look similar on first glance and have VERY different semantics.
-
-| Primitive | Identity | Mutability | Lookup cost | Audit trail |
-|---|---|---|---|---|
-| **Record** (`setRecord` / `queryRecords` / `getRecordsByIds`) | Content hash (CID) | Immutable. Every change is a NEW record with a new CID. | Attribute-indexed, but returns EVERY version matching | Implicit — all versions persist forever |
-| **Name** (`setName` / `lookupNames` / `resolveNames`) | Caller-chosen string (`"mtm/lootboxes/<wallet>/<id>"`) | Pointer. Re-setting updates which CID the name resolves to. | Direct name → latest CID lookup (single record) | Explicit — `NameRecord.history` returns prior bindings with block heights |
-| **Authority / Bond / Auction** | Purpose-specific | Varies | Purpose-specific | Varies |
-
-**The trap:** `Record` looks like the universal "put this thing on
-chain" primitive because its API surface is biggest and most
-obvious. If you treat it as such, every mutable-state use case
-(game state, user profiles, inventories, counters) ends up re-
-implementing the Naming API badly — appending version after
-version, then filtering client-side for "the latest."
-
-## Decision tree
-
-```
-Does the thing you're storing have a mutable logical identity?
-(i.e., "the current state of thing X" is a meaningful question)
-
-├── YES → Use the Naming API.
-│         setName("mtm/lootboxes/<wallet>/<box_id>", cid) on every write.
-│         lookupNames(...) or resolveNames(...) returns the one
-│         current record. Audit trail via NameRecord.history.
-│
-└── NO → Is it a point-lookup by CID?
-          │
-          ├── YES → getRecordsByIds([cid])
-          │
-          └── NO → It's an append-only event stream with
-                   queryable attributes. Use setRecord +
-                   queryRecords. Expect every historical record
-                   to come back; plan pagination accordingly.
-```
-
-## Anti-pattern: "queryRecords-as-key-value-store"
-
-This is the mistake real laconicd codebases keep making. It looks
-like this:
-
-```python
-# BAD — reimplementing names via attribute scan
-
-async def save_state(user_id: str, state: dict):
-    await set_record(
-        record_type="UserState",
-        attributes={"user_id": user_id},        # logical ID as attribute
-        data=state,
-    )
-
-async def get_state(user_id: str) -> dict:
-    records = await query_records(
-        record_type="UserState",
-        attributes={"user_id": user_id},
-    )
-    # Client-side "pick the latest" — smell
-    records.sort(key=lambda r: r["created_at"], reverse=True)
-    return records[0]
-```
-
-Why it's wrong:
-
-1. Every call to `save_state` writes a NEW content-addressed record.
-   Old records stay on chain forever.
-2. `query_records` returns all of them every time. Per-record fetch
-   cost scales linearly with save count.
-3. The client-side `sort + [0]` is "I wanted the latest" — exactly
-   what `lookupNames` does at the index level.
-4. Latency degrades silently as users accumulate history. The
-   query eventually breaches whatever timeout the caller has.
-
-The correct pattern:
-
-```python
-# GOOD — names for mutable identity
-
-async def save_state(user_id: str, state: dict):
-    cid = await set_record(
-        record_type="UserState",
-        attributes={"user_id": user_id},
-        data=state,
-    )
-    await set_name(
-        name=f"my-app/user-state/{user_id}",
-        cid=cid,
-    )
-
-async def get_state(user_id: str) -> dict:
-    record = await resolve_name(f"my-app/user-state/{user_id}")
-    return record
-```
-
-Properties of the correct pattern:
-
-- One name → one current CID. Latency doesn't scale with save count.
-- Historical versions still exist on chain (immutable Record CIDs
-  aren't deleted), and are reachable via `NameRecord.history`.
-- Audit trail is explicit rather than implicit — you can ask "what
-  was the state at block N?" rather than scanning every version.
-- Client code has no "pick the latest" step; the chain already
-  answered that.
-
-## Anti-pattern: "compaction via `delete_records`"
-
-The `delete_records` primitive exists and is tempting to use for
-"prune old versions of logical entity X to keep queries fast." Do
-not use it for that unless you have signed off on dropping the
-audit trail.
-
-- `delete_records` physically removes a CID from the index.
-- If your design relies on every version being recoverable (audit
-  trails, chain-of-custody, dispute resolution), compaction
-  destroys exactly that property.
-- If your design doesn't need every version, you were never in
-  the Record + attribute-scan pattern to begin with — you wanted
-  the Naming API from the start.
-
-`delete_records` is appropriate for **user-intent-driven
-permanent deletion** (unregistering a device, unfollowing,
-revoking a credential). Not for database-compaction-style
-version pruning.
-
-## Anti-pattern: "cache the slow query"
-
-Caching a `queryRecords` result (TTL, LRU, whatever) at the client
-layer is attractive because it appears to fix latency without
-touching storage design. It doesn't — it hides the fact that you
-chose the wrong primitive. The first read per cache window still
-pays the growing-with-history cost, and the design drifts further
-from correct as the caching surface calcifies.
-
-Cache is acceptable for genuinely external-service latency (price
-oracles, Solana RPC balance checks). It is not acceptable as a
-substitute for using the Naming API.
-
-## Pagination (`limit` / `offset`)
-
-`queryRecords` accepts `limit` and `offset`. Use them when you
-genuinely want an append-only event stream with cursor-style
-paging (e.g., "the last 100 events matching filter X"). Do NOT
-use pagination to patch over "my mutable-identity query is slow" —
-pagination doesn't reduce the per-entity version multiplier,
-only the per-request fetch budget.
-
-## Mutations go through Cosmos tx, not GraphQL
-
-Writes (`setRecord`, `setName`, `deleteRecord`, `reserveAuthority`,
-etc.) are Cosmos SDK `Msg`s, submitted via Tendermint RPC. The
-GraphQL endpoint is read-only. Client libraries usually wrap this
-behind a "registry writer" sidecar or equivalent — check how your
-SDK / service is structured before wiring writes.
-
-## Worked example: mutable game state
-
-Game records a user's loot box that transitions
-`PENDING → ACTIVE → RESOLVED`.
-
-Correct shape:
-
-- **Record writes** (one per state transition; each gets a new CID):
-  - `setRecord(type="LootBox", attributes={wallet, id, status}, data={...})`
-  - Preserves complete history as immutable records. Needed for
-    audit: "what did this box look like when the user picked?"
-- **Name write** (on every transition, pointing at the new CID):
-  - `setName(name=f"mygame/lootboxes/{wallet}/{box_id}", cid=<new_cid>)`
-- **Read: current state of one box**:
-  - `resolveName(f"mygame/lootboxes/{wallet}/{box_id}")` → one record.
-- **Read: all current boxes for a wallet**:
-  - Enumerate names by prefix, resolve each. Or maintain an
-    index name `mygame/lootboxes/{wallet}/_index` whose pointed
-    record lists active box ids.
-- **Read: audit trail of one box**:
-  - `lookupNames([f"mygame/lootboxes/{wallet}/{box_id}"])` returns
-    `NameRecord.history`, one entry per state transition, each with
-    its block height. Resolve each entry's CID to get the full
-    historical state.
-
-This shape works with any number of boxes per wallet. Per-wallet
-latency is bounded by active-box count, not lifetime
-transition-count.
-
-## When you find an existing codebase doing it wrong
-
-Appending a fix on top of the wrong primitive is usually the
-wrong move. Options in order of preference:
-
-1. **Migrate to Naming API.** The data already on chain as Records
-   is still valid — you just need to start writing names and
-   reading via names. Existing consumers of the attribute-scan
-   path can keep working until they're moved.
-2. **Document the debt.** If the migration is deferred, write an
-   ADR saying so and naming the specific class of regression
-   this creates (latency as history accumulates).
-3. **Do NOT reach for caches or compaction first.** Those hide
-   the design mistake and make the eventual migration harder.
-
-## See also
-
-- `AGENTS.md` (repo root) — why AI agents particularly mis-pick
-  primitives here, and what context they need.
-- `gql/cerc-io/laconicd/schema.graphql` — inline anti-pattern
-  warnings on `queryRecords` and `getRecordsByIds`.

gql/cerc-io/laconicd/schema.graphql

@@ -240,30 +240,10 @@ type Query {
   # GraphDB API.
   #
 
-  # Point-lookup of records by content-hash CID.
-  #
-  # Returns one record per id. CIDs are immutable — a record's
-  # content never changes, so this API answers "what was at this
-  # CID?" If you want "what is the current state of logical
-  # thing X?", use resolveNames / lookupNames instead (below).
+  # Get records by IDs.
   getRecordsByIds(ids: [String!]): [Record]
 
-  # Attribute-filtered query over records.
-  #
-  # WARNING — pick the right primitive before using this.
-  # Records are content-addressed and immutable; every state
-  # change writes a NEW record with a new CID. queryRecords
-  # returns EVERY version matching the filter, not "the latest."
-  # If you find yourself filtering by a logical id attribute
-  # (wallet, user_id, entity_id, etc.) and then picking the
-  # "latest" version client-side, you are reimplementing the
-  # Naming API (resolveNames / lookupNames) at the client layer.
-  # That is the correct primitive for mutable logical identity.
-  #
-  # Use queryRecords for: append-only event streams, list-all-
-  # events-matching-filter, cursor-paged audit scans.
-  # DO NOT use queryRecords for: "get the current state of X".
-  # See docs/PATTERNS.md and AGENTS.md for the decision tree.
+  # Query records.
   queryRecords(
     # Multiple attribute conditions are in a logical AND.
     attributes: [KeyValueInput!]
@@ -281,17 +261,6 @@ type Query {
   #
   # Naming API.
   #
-  # USE THIS for any "current state of logical thing X" lookup.
-  # setName binds a caller-chosen name to a content-addressed
-  # record CID. Re-calling setName with a new CID updates which
-  # CID the name resolves to, without losing the prior binding
-  # (NameRecord.history preserves it with block heights).
-  #
-  # Names eliminate the "scan all versions, pick latest" client-
-  # side pattern that queryRecords invites. They are the
-  # correct primitive for mutable logical identity.
-  # See docs/PATTERNS.md for the decision tree and worked examples.
-  #
 
   # Get authorities list.
   getAuthorities(owner: String): [Authority]!
@@ -300,12 +269,6 @@ type Query {
   lookupAuthorities(names: [String!]): [AuthorityRecord]!
 
   # Lookup name to record mapping information.
-  #
-  # Returns a NameRecord per queried name, each containing the
-  # `latest` binding (the current CID) and `history` (all prior
-  # bindings with their block heights). Use this when you want
-  # both the current state and its audit trail. If you only want
-  # the current Record, resolveNames is more direct.
   lookupNames(names: [String!]): [NameRecord]!
 
   # Resolve names to records.